Federal Judge Sanctions Law Firm for Errors in OnlyFans Lawsuit Filings
A federal judge in California has imposed sanctions on a well-known plaintiffs’ law firm due to errors in court filings related to a lawsuit involving OnlyFans and its parent company. U.S. District Judge Fred Slaughter of the Central District of California ordered Seattle-based Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and partner Robert Carey to pay $10,000 in sanctions for submitting briefs with legal material not supported by existing law. Co-counsel Celeste Boyd was also sanctioned $3,000.
The sanctions were a result of four briefs filed in a case where OnlyFans users sued Fenix International Ltd., claiming that subscribers were unknowingly interacting with paid “chatters” pretending to be creators to boost spending on the platform. Judge Slaughter found that parts of the filings included fabricated or “hallucinated” legal citations generated by AI tools.
The judge emphasized that arguments presented to the court must be backed by existing law and highlighted the responsibility of firm leadership to supervise co-counsel and ensure adherence to professional standards. Boyd admitted to using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to draft and edit sections of the briefs but failed to verify the output independently, citing personal issues and a lapse in following internal AI protocols.
Carey disputed the use of artificial intelligence by Hagens Berman in preparing the filings, attributing the problematic citations to outside co-counsel who did not follow the firm’s AI protocols. The firm’s management committee is currently reviewing internal processes in light of the incident.
Judge Slaughter declined the plaintiffs’ lawyers' request to withdraw and correct the AI-affected briefs, stating that allowing revisions would unfairly burden defendants who had already responded. He granted motions to dismiss filed by Fenix International and its affiliated agencies but permitted the plaintiffs to amend their complaint.
In conclusion, a federal judge in California sanctioned a plaintiffs’ law firm for errors in court filings related to a lawsuit involving OnlyFans and its parent company, emphasizing the importance of ensuring legal arguments are supported by existing law and proper supervision of co-counsel.